The Humane Society of the United States and another animal rights group Front Range Equine Rescue have petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban domestic horse meat for human consumption. They claim the meat contains banned chemicals that are harmful to humans.

Horse slaughter advocate Sue Wallis is not fazed by the action. “I actually don’t think it matters one whit,” she says.

Wallis tells Brownfield the animal rights activists have no case, “You know, the protocols are in place, the testing is in place, the methods are in place to ensure that all animals that are processed are free of any compromising drug residue of any kind.”

Wallis says as horse processing gets closer to resuming in the US, activists are increasing their animal seizures and other anti-livestock activities. Wallis says, “What I think they are doing is trying to beat the drum because they want to push their slaughter ban bills in Congress.”

Wallis says Congress recognized the harm that five years of a horse slaughter ban has done to horse welfare in the U.S. by removing that ban late last year. Wallis says her organization, Unified Equine, continues to pursue locations in southwest Missouri for a horse meat processing plant.

The petition asks the FDA to “certify all horses and horse meat from American horses as ‘unqualified’ for human consumption.”